Store Caters To Taste For Spanish Food

Some American palates, however, may just savor in those and other Latin American delicacies found in a neighborhood grocery in Winter Springs.

Since the Garcia family opened Argentina Market almost two weeks ago, business has been thriving. In a community where Spanish food stores are still scarce, their store in The Village Center on State Road 434 primarily appeals to Spanish-speaking residents, said Walter Garcia, the son of the shop's proprietors.

Garcia said his family chose to open a market featuring Spanish products partly because ''we're Spanish and we get along with Spanish people.'' However, because the shop carries some American and the best of Latin American products -- including homemade empanadas, Argentine meat pies, and fresh bread -- Garcia expects the shop to attract a cross section of people.

Two years ago Garcia, his wife, brother and parents moved to Casselberry from Brooklyn, N.Y., to escape the urban bustle and, as he claimed, a shaky education system.

''We made a lot of money in New York,'' said Garcia, 22, referring to a similar family-owned shop in Brooklyn Heights. ''We came down here to relax a little.'' Maria Garcia, 44, agreed, saying that Central Florida is ''nice, easy, quiet.''

Ramon Garcia, 48, first came to the United States 15 years ago to ''find a better life.'' He had heard through an Argentine employment agency that a grocery store chain in New York needed butchers. He gambled. He came over, found a job, worked hard, and sent for his family three years later.

Ramon Garcia said that above all, he cherishes this country's ''beautiful'' liberty and endless opportunities. What he misses in Argentina, however, are the ''best meats and wine'' in the world. He said he hopes to go back and taste them again one day.